Chapter 36: Ancient Ruin
White watched Ruan Yanxi's fleeing back. His confusion soon morphed into amusement. Ruan Yanxi always appeared stoic and aloof, but he was actually only an awkward person.
As he waited for Ruan Yanxi to check up on Wen Yi, White pondered the last time someone touched him. He spent most of his time in this world inside a vessel. It was only recently when he formed a body. Yulan crafted that bead from several rare materials to contain his unstable soul.
She was the first person to touch him. Although he could perceive his surrounding, there was a barrier between him and the outside world. Ruan Yanxi was the first person to initiate touch with him besides Yulan.
He couldn't say that he hate it.
The backlash had caused Wen Yi to lose consciousness for a minute. Wen Yi looked at the ancient ruin It was a building made out of stones and unknown trees. Its leaves were blue and purple with white barks. Inside the ruin were twisting corridors with varying shapes, some were large and others were small. The air was damp and dusty. Their footsteps echoed through the silent ruin.
White walked on the front. His steps were sure and unyielding. He did not show an ounce of fear when stepping into this ancient place. Wen Yi on the other hand kept his hand on his sword, ready to respond to any danger. Ruan Yanxi followed behind the two of them, guarding the rear.
White led them into a large chamber. Rays of light entered the room through the cracks on the roof. There were unknown writings on the walls, when one got close it would light up like stars. White walked toward the center of the room. There was a circular entrance that had been sealed with a formation.
"Stand back," White said as he threw another spiritual stone. Wen Yi watched in pain as White wasted another dozen of spiritual stones. This time the formation broke easily. The massive slab of stone began to crack with a rumble and collapsed completely revealing a massive hole into the earth. Wen Yi accidentally knocked a small stone into the hole when he peeked into it but no sound of the stone landing on the ground could be heard.
"So we just… jump in?" Wen Yi asked.
White shrugged his shoulder and jumped in. "See you on the bottom!" His voice echoed as he fell into nothingness.
Wen Yi and Ruan Yanxi exchanged a glance. Ruan Yanxi exhaled and followed White. Wen Yi stood still, waiting for a sign that they arrived safely on the bottom. None could be heard. Wen Yi looked around the gloomy chamber. The eerie silence that he had not noticed before pressed upon him. Wen Yi looked back at the yawning darkness.
"You can do it Wen Yi," he said to himself, "it's just jumping into a deep dark hole with unknown dangers…" Wen Yi shook his head. He took several deep breaths and jumped.
Ruan Yanxi who was falling in the dark was not as calm as he wanted to be. This sensation reminded him too much of his past. The vicious face of the crown prince as he pushed him off flashed across his mind. He shook them off and tried to focus himself.
The air had become colder as he fell deeper. Slowly a spark of light could be seen below. Ruan Yanxi prepared himself. Just as he was about to use his spiritual energy to slow his landing, someone caught him in the air.
"!!" Ruan Yanxi looked at the smiling White who was holding him in his arms.
"Careful, you don't want to land there." White nodded at the patch of red flowers growing on the bottom of the entrance. "This is a simple trap to catch unaware intruders."
Ruan Yanxi pulled away from White and stood on his feet. "Poisonous?"
Not long after a scream could be heard coming from the entrance. White snatched the panicked Wen Yi from the air and landed gracefully away from the dangerous plant.
Wen Yi clutched on White tight for several seconds. The long fall triggered his fear of height and caused him to lose his composure. When he was calm enough, he released his hold and fall to the ground.
"Thanks," Wen Yi said.
"No problem, oh and be careful to avoid those flowers behind you." White happily informed, "This plant likes to immobilize its victims and drag them under the soil to slowly digest them. I'm not sure if you are conscious in the process."
Wen Yi looked at the seemingly innocent and harmless flowers in horror and took several steps back. It was as if he was expecting the flowers to leap out of the ground and pounce on him.
White patted Wen Yi's back and said, "Alright, we're going to go deeper. Be sure to stay close. There should be more weird creatures and plants as we proceed."
Unlike the ruin above, this underground ruin was much more complex and massive. There were countless winding tunnels and paths. Luminous mushrooms grew on the walls to light their path.
"What is this place?" Wen Yi couldn't help but ask. This place didn't seem to be human dwellings.
White explained. "A long time ago, this was the home of the Phrithuvian. They were a race of insects. A fallen ancient beast landed in this forest and through its power it bestowed knowledge and wisdom upon the insects. The beast began to rule over the insects as their god and build this kingdom. But in the first great war, it was destroyed."
White pointed his finger at the fossilized carcass of a centipede. Its size was enormous. Its length spanned as long as a corridor. There were complex markings on its shells. It was a remnant of a culture long forgotten.
White sighed. "A new rising race, it was unfortunate that it was dragged into a dead-end by their own god."
"Not even one of them escaped?" Wen Yi asked.
"There shouldn't be," White said. "The great war did not support benevolence and kindness. They were the enemy and must be destroyed."
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